Palacio Real (Riofrio)
The Palacio Real de Riofrío is a Spanish royal palace. The palace is located a few kilometers southwest of the city of Segovia in the province of the same name .
history
The palace was built from 1751 at the instigation of the queen widow Elisabeth . Elisabeth wanted a retirement home to meet the new King Ferdinand VI. - getting out of the way of her stepson. In addition, she had already brought four of her children to European throne through a clever marriage policy and was now trying to establish a residence for her youngest son, Luis, with the palace of Riofrío . However, the unexpected death of King Ferdinand led to Elizabeth's position in the royal family being reversed. Your eldest son Karl III. succeeded Ferdinand and she returned to Madrid. In the following years, however, the castle was inhabited again and again, with Franz Maria Ferdinand de Assisi among the last regular residents .
The lock
The drafts for the castle come from the Ticino architect Vigilio Rabaglio from Gandria, the construction work continued with interruptions until 1766. The four-wing palace is reminiscent of the Palacio Real in Madrid in its proportions , but its decoration is kept simpler. Of the main courtyard buildings , only the eastern side wing was built here. With their evenness, the facades resemble the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The palace stands in a prominent position in the middle of the Sierra de Guadarrama , and the arcaded , shady inner courtyard was a popular place to stay in the hot summers.
The palace has magnificent parade rooms and ballrooms inside , but the private rooms of the Bourbons have also been preserved. Since the castle has been inhabited over and over again for many years, the precious furnishings have outgrown the various eras.
The environment
The castle stands in the middle of a relatively barren landscape. Instead of a lush palace park , the immediate area of the palace merges directly into the surrounding forest, which with its rich animal population also made Riofrío a hunting lodge .
See also
literature
- Juan A. Hernández Ferrero: Palacios reales del Patrimoni Nacional . Editorial Lunwerg, Barcelona 1997, ISBN 84-7120-218-2 .
- German translation: Spanish royal palaces. Evidence of a national history . Könemann, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-8290-2231-X .
Web links
Coordinates: 40 ° 52 ′ 25 ″ N , 4 ° 9 ′ 3 ″ W.